This review may contain spoilers
Bad story line and romance was mainly centred for male gaze
I am writing this review as someone who has proudly never read the book and never will. I know this series has a lot of fans, but I am definitely not one of them.
The storyline itself is bizarre. A girl randomly spawns in Bangkok and immediately reaches out to her old school friend, whom she supposedly had a fallout with over a "hair lice" issue? That's probably one of the most unrealistic setups ever. Anyone with an ounce of self-respect would have better things to do. Sure, Aoey had a valid reason—getting kicked out of her house—but that whole situation was another level of weird drama. Honestly, no girl with a little bit of common sense would make half the decisions Aoey did.
It was nice of Genlong to let Aoey stay with her, but realistically, it felt forced and unnatural.
I know, I know—fans will say, "It's just a series, it's fiction, get over it." But my issue is how incredibly messy everything felt. The representation of SA and PTSD was the worst. These heavy topics deserve better representation, with a focus on the victim’s experience in a way that feels real, respectful and the viewer should be able to feel and relate to the character, even if they haven't experienced such a thing. Mate completely failed at this. Instead of a good portrayal, all we got was Aoey screaming, yelling, and throwing tantrums whenever someone touched her. I get it—she went through something no one should ever have to. But seriously? There were so many better ways to depict her trauma rather than reducing it to repeated outbursts.
The romance? No comments. It was good. But I felt nothing watching 90% of the romantic scenes. It felt like the romance was catered entirely to the male gaze. If that was the goal, fine, but they could’ve at least adjusted the plot a little instead of completely ruining the whole thing.
The cast was alright, but the characters were frustrating. What was Thot’s purpose in the story? Why was Genlong so unbearably cringe about everything? Even Aoey, for the matter of fact was indeed very cringe too. Speaking of which, the cringe factor in this series was on another level. Nearly every episode had at least one scene that made me want to skip forward. I genuinely said "WTF" out loud at least once per episode.
Aoey's marriage was hands down the most out-of-pocket scene ever. Like, the story would've been better even without it. The couple could’ve worked things out even if the groom didn’t exist. Instead of those unnecessary makeout scenes during fights, they should’ve focused more on Aoey and Genlong reconnecting through actual conversations after their separation.
Also, Aoey’s soon-to-be fiancé cheats and gets all the hate, but let’s be real—Aoey kinda does the same by making out with Genlong while engaged. And yet, she still makes Genlong her bridesmaid and introduces her as her dear friend? Girl, what? If you like her that much, just call off the wedding. The fact that she even entertained feelings for someone else while engaged says a lot about her. This isn’t love—she’s just deceiving herself.
Overall, this series was just a mess. The writing was weak, the execution of serious topics was terrible, and the romance was unconvincing. If you enjoyed it, good for you, but personally? Not my cup of tea.
The storyline itself is bizarre. A girl randomly spawns in Bangkok and immediately reaches out to her old school friend, whom she supposedly had a fallout with over a "hair lice" issue? That's probably one of the most unrealistic setups ever. Anyone with an ounce of self-respect would have better things to do. Sure, Aoey had a valid reason—getting kicked out of her house—but that whole situation was another level of weird drama. Honestly, no girl with a little bit of common sense would make half the decisions Aoey did.
It was nice of Genlong to let Aoey stay with her, but realistically, it felt forced and unnatural.
I know, I know—fans will say, "It's just a series, it's fiction, get over it." But my issue is how incredibly messy everything felt. The representation of SA and PTSD was the worst. These heavy topics deserve better representation, with a focus on the victim’s experience in a way that feels real, respectful and the viewer should be able to feel and relate to the character, even if they haven't experienced such a thing. Mate completely failed at this. Instead of a good portrayal, all we got was Aoey screaming, yelling, and throwing tantrums whenever someone touched her. I get it—she went through something no one should ever have to. But seriously? There were so many better ways to depict her trauma rather than reducing it to repeated outbursts.
The romance? No comments. It was good. But I felt nothing watching 90% of the romantic scenes. It felt like the romance was catered entirely to the male gaze. If that was the goal, fine, but they could’ve at least adjusted the plot a little instead of completely ruining the whole thing.
The cast was alright, but the characters were frustrating. What was Thot’s purpose in the story? Why was Genlong so unbearably cringe about everything? Even Aoey, for the matter of fact was indeed very cringe too. Speaking of which, the cringe factor in this series was on another level. Nearly every episode had at least one scene that made me want to skip forward. I genuinely said "WTF" out loud at least once per episode.
Aoey's marriage was hands down the most out-of-pocket scene ever. Like, the story would've been better even without it. The couple could’ve worked things out even if the groom didn’t exist. Instead of those unnecessary makeout scenes during fights, they should’ve focused more on Aoey and Genlong reconnecting through actual conversations after their separation.
Also, Aoey’s soon-to-be fiancé cheats and gets all the hate, but let’s be real—Aoey kinda does the same by making out with Genlong while engaged. And yet, she still makes Genlong her bridesmaid and introduces her as her dear friend? Girl, what? If you like her that much, just call off the wedding. The fact that she even entertained feelings for someone else while engaged says a lot about her. This isn’t love—she’s just deceiving herself.
Overall, this series was just a mess. The writing was weak, the execution of serious topics was terrible, and the romance was unconvincing. If you enjoyed it, good for you, but personally? Not my cup of tea.
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